Many aerial platforms such as airplanes and drones or Unmanned Aerial vehicles (UAVs) may desire broadband access.
A number of systems have in recent years been developed and deployed to provide internet access to aircraft. Some such systems are satellite based. Some such systems utilize Air To Ground (ATG) systems (e.g., using an 800 MHz band). Such ATG systems may deploy as many as one hundred or more cell sites across the U.S. to provide connectivity to the aircraft flying over the CONtinental U.S. (CONUS). These systems have been quite successful in providing connectivity to the passengers. The data rate requirements have, however, increased and there is a need for much higher data rates and at low cost. Multi-beam satellite systems, primarily deployed in the Ka band, can provide such high capacity. The satellite systems are, however, expensive because of the high cost of the space segment as well as the high cost of the satellite antennas. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has recently issued a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) to allow the use of the Ku or 14-14.5 GHz band for the use of an ATG system.
The use of the 14-14.5 GHz band for ATG deployment is contingent upon protecting the incumbent satellite services in this band. The ATG cell sites must be designed in such a way as to achieve the low emission limits toward Geo-Stationary satellites that will be imposed by the FCC.
Thus, there is a need for a way to provide high speed broadband access that utilizes the Ku band having almost 500 MHz of spectrum to provide very high data rates cost efficiently while generating emissions that are within the imposed limits.